A HUGE sense of loss is felt in the Aberdeen community after the sad death of Maureen MacAndrew, who was synonymous with animal care in the town.
Maureen worked tirelessly to help vulnerable animals, mostly dogs and cats from poorer households. Even though very few people paid anything towards treatment for their pets, she refused to see an animal suffer and often, at her own expense, she would take animals to the vets in Graaff-Rei-net.
She founded the Camdeboo Animal Rescue Enterprise (CARE) in 2014, and with a small group of volunteers arranged many sterilisation sessions, to try to curb the reckless breeding of cats and dogs, which if left unchecked would have led to more neglected and abused animals.
She opened a charity shop and held events to raise funds, but there was never enough money to care for all the animals. Often Maureen herself would do without, so that a dog or cat could have food.
Maureen was diagnosed with cancer about four years ago and underwent treatment, but sadly she became increasingly frail in the last few months.
Despite this, she still worried about the animals, and did as much as she could, helped by willing volunteers. She would never turn away a sick or injured animal, and was not afraid to reprimand irresponsible owners, for which she was greatly respected throughout the community.
A memorial service was held last week at the Aberdeen Methodist Church, where many friends paid tribute to this humble lady who had enriched the lives of so many people.
